Motorcycle brake actuator



Oct..l6, 1945. T. HELME v 2,38%;020

MOTORCYCLE BRAKE ACTUA'.` OR

Filed April 13. 1944 and Patented Oct. 16, 1945 saires "PATENT OFFICES Thomas Helme, Albany, NY; Application Aipril13, 1944,Serial No. 5301,884l

4. Claims.

invention-2 relatesto motorcycles and partienlarlyto air-improv'edl means for actuating thev brake'sthereof.

Many motorcycles are at present equippedI with a-I fron-t wheel-brake but, in orderY to appl-y the same, the actuator is so positioned that the operator must remove a handi from the handlebar grip; 'I'iie-servicebrake isordinarily applied by the foot but" whereA a sudden-stopY is' necessary it i'sdesirabl'e to appl-yfboth the foot and the hand* brake. Sincev emergencies which demand ther application of" alllr the available brakes also4 re quire-the-operator-, at the same time, to'maintain fil-1il steering Icontrol 'of the cycle by keeping both 'hands on the' handlebars itis quite'impossible, Withitliepresent'types'of-actuators, for'the opera tonsimultaneously tov do-both of these things.

Thel principal object ofmy invention, therefore, is to provide' a brakeactuatonan'd" particularly a fron-t wheelV brake actuator whichV can bel manipulated without-removing either of' the hands` from the hand-lebars.` MoreA specifically; the object of my invention is to provide a brake actuator which is'inc'l'uded withinw andwhich formsa part of one off' tiiehand'lebar` grips;

' Facconipiish` this andother objects bythe novel elements andthecombinations'and arrangements thereof described' below and illustrated' in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1l is a'fragxnentaryside elevation view of'I a motorcycle equipped' with my brake actuator; 2 `isaV fragmentary longitudinal sectionv in a. vertical plane., Withcertain parts broken away, of my'actuator Fig. 3 is a section in the plane 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a section in the plane 4 4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a section of Fig. 2 in the plane 5 5; Fig. 6 is a section of Fig. 2 in the plane 6-S;

bar tube on either side of the hinge is flattened as shown at E in Figs. 2 and 3 and the hinge is secured to the iiattened portion by means of rivets 1, or otherwise. Closely but rotatively tted over the tube 2, and adjacent the end thereof, is a cam-sleeve 8 which maybe turned on the handleU bar in1 the usualv way toy control either thethrottle or spa-rk. 9 i'sthe housing' for' a Bowden' wire Ill one end Voi. which is securedlin the slidable bioclii-Il by means of the setscrewA I2 or otherwise.

Pulling on this wire from the position shown, which is the closedl throttleL position; w-illvv openJ the'throttle or advancethe spark as isfw'ell understood) in theart. In order' toed-ect a pull'V on the1 wirev I bythe rotation-of the sleeved a slot' |13; is provided in the' bottom of' the handlebar; as shown inFigs. 2l and?, and a4 screw` I6 passing through this slot is` threaded1 into' the block II, as shown in Figfil The head I5 of the screw" I4f is enlarged so that it cannot pass throughx the slot I3 andv is positioned in the' helicaf cam slotA It4 in the cam sleeve S. A portion I1 of the end of the sleeve 81 is bent downwardly overY the end of thehandlebar shown in' Figs. 2 and 3'; t'owform a stoplimiting the distance which the tube 8f can be slidforwardlyJ over' thehandlebar tube-2: Thus; it' will" be apparent, that byrotating the tube t4 the'screw- I ican be moved' to' the' right in slot I It by reason of' the cam action of the slot in the-sleeve 8' and' thus effect a pull on wire IUL Screw h'rwili norinall'yprevent sleeve @from being pulledioi tube 2. However, a second screw 43 threadfedintojtulr'iel 2 and passing through' a sl'ot 44 in sleeve' 8L may be used' if desired.

The'end portionSof the handlebar which is' pivotally connected to the main portion 2' i'salso provided with an external-sleeve. I8 which isrotatable thereon.v Theportions ofthe tubes Tand '3`r and' the `-s1e'eves'8andl 4IIVare cut' away below the hinge pin 4, as shown at I9 and 20. to provide clearance so that, when the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 2, the end portion 3 of the handlebar tube with the sleeve I 8 thereon may be iiexed downwardly about the pivotal connection 4. In order to maintain the pivotally connected end portion of the handlebar in alignment with the rest of the bar I provide a flat spring 2| which is secured to the xed portion of the handlebar by the hinge rivets 1 and which extends towards the end of the bar and slides beneath the element 22 which is welded or otherwise secured to the inside of the tube 3 as shown at 23. This spring is biased to hold the end of the handlebar up in alignment with the principal portion of the bar but is designed to yield when the end portion of the handlebar is exed downwardly into the position shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2.

2d is the housing for a Bowden wire 25 (see Figs. 1 and 2) which when pulled will contract a bicycle.

the brake band 28 on the brake drum 21 which is secured to the front wheel 28 of the motorcycle. The wire 25 is secured in the block 29 by means of a screw 30, or otherwise, and this block is slidably mounted in a bracket 3| which is welded or otherwise secured to the inside of the tube 3, as shown at 32. The block 29 is provided with the threaded passage 33 with which the screw 34 cooperates and this screw is rotatably secured inthe bracket 375 `which is welded or otherwise secured to the inside ofthe tube 3, as shown at 36'.

Surrounding and adhesively secured, as shown at 31, to the cam sleeve 8 is a sleeve 38 which may be of rubber forming a portionof the handv grip. Similarly surrounding and adhesively secured to the sleeve i8 is the end portion 39 of the hand grip which is provided with'a hole 40 forV a screw driver to turn screw 34.

the passage of The bottom portions of the grips 38 and 39, in the vthrottle closed position, are also cut away as shownat I9 and 20 so that they do not interfere with the downward movement of the end portion of the grip. The separate lportions of the grip are secured together by the resilient rubber sleeve 40 having end portionsvdl and 42 which engage and are preferably cemented in grooves in the grips 38 and 39. This rubber sleeve 4D thus encloses the center portion of the grip and serves ,to- 'ecure the sleeve i8 and the covering portion 39 of the grip to the portion 38 of the grip. From the'foregoing it will be apparent that the sleeves 8 and I8 forma carrier for a substantially continuous grip on the handlebar which may be rotated in the usual way either to vadvance or retard the spark or to open or close the throttle. However, when` the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2 with the throttle closed the free end of the grip may be depresd or flexed downwardly to the position shown in dotted outline 39' in Fig, 2. Thiswill move the block. 29 to the position shown in dotted outline at 29" and lthus effect a pull on the wire 25 to apply the front wheel brake. Furthermore, the clearance between the brakeband 26 and the drum 21 may be adjusted by turning the screw 34. It is obvious that my brake actuator may be applied to ordinary bicycles as well as motorcycles and hence the lterm motorcycle, as used herein and in the claims, is intended to include While I have described my invention in its preferred embodiment it is to be understood that the words which I have used are words of description rather than of limitation and that changes within the purview of the appended claims may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a motorcycle having a brake, a brake actuator comprising a handlebar, a grip, means for securing said grip to said handlebar in rotatable and also in exible relation thereto; whereby 4said grip is adaptedto actuate one device by a rotating movement thereof and a second device by a flexing movement thereof; said brake constituting one of said two devices; and

means operatively connecting said grip to said brake for actuating the latter by one of the two said movements of said grip.

'2. In a motorcycle having a brake, a brake actuator comprising a handlebar, a grip, means for securing said grip to said handlebar in rotatable and also in flexible relation thereto; whereby said grip is adapted to actuate one device by a rotating movement thereof and a secg-V ond device by a iiexing movement thereof; said brake constituting one of said two devices; and means operatively connecting said grip to said brake for actuating the latter by the flexing movement of said grip.

3.V A brake actuator for a motorcycle having` a motor controlling means and a brake; said actuator comprising a handlebar,means mov-Y of said sleeves being movable independently of the motor controlling movements of said one sleeve and out of axial alignment with said bar; and means actuated by the movement of said other sleeve and cooperating with said brake for actuating the same.

4. In a motor cycle, a combined brake actuy ator and motor control device comprising a handlebar, a grip, means securing said grip to said handle bar in rotatable yand also in flexible relation thereto, means vcooperating with said grip and adapted to actuate a motor controllingv means upon a rotative movement of said grip, and means cooperating with said grip and adapt ed to actuate said brake upon a flexing movement of said grip,

THOMAS HELME.

relative to said bar and provided 

